Page 25 of Stroke of Fate

“Me?” I ask in surprise.

Why would he be waiting for me, of all people? And also, why is my heart doing a flip-flop at hearing that?

“Yeah, I wanted to see if you needed a ride home. And uh,” he clears his throat, “to see if we could finish our conversation from earlier.”

Oh. He means the one interrupted by red-headed Barbie, who was all up in his personal space. Of course, I don’t saythatbecause it would make me sound jealous, and I’m not. No, not at all.

So, instead, I say lamely, “I don’t take rides from strangers.”

Was I about to order an Uber if it weren’t for Macy? Yes, but that’s neither here nor there.

He raises a brow. “Technically, we’re not strangers. I live in your building, remember?”

Of course, I remember. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Again, I don’t voice my thoughts because I don’t want him to know how much he’s been on my mind.

I rack my teeth over my lower lip. “I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Levi.”

Levi.

Finally, a name to a face. I hadn’t realized how much it had bothered me that he knew my name while I didn’t know his.Like he had some upper hand. But now, we’re finally on an even playing field.

I let his name swirl around my mind, and dammit, even his name fits him perfectly.

Why couldn’t it be something weird like Glazier? Or old like Alfred? Not that it would have taken away from his good looks, but it would at least have made me feel slightly better knowing his name isn’t as attractive as his face.

Unbeknownst to my inner turmoil, Levi continues, “So, about that ride?”

“Who says I don’t have a car?” I should just shut up and thank him for the offer, but I enjoy talking to him. A lot more than I expected.

“I figured I’d take my chances.” A hint of a smile touches his lips, and he steps toward me.

A pair of headlights slice through the parking lot. Judging by the direction, it’s probably Macy. I have about ten seconds to decide. I look away from her car and back at Levi.

He watches me expectantly, and I want to say yes. My heart so badly wants to keep this going, whatever this is. But my head screams at me to run the other way, reminding me how badly things ended with Hunter. And that’s enough for me to follow my head on this one. Maybe if I listened to it more, I’d see people for who they are, not who I want them to be.

I take a deep breath and exhale silently through my nose, hating myself for what I’m about to say. “Look, I appreciate you waiting around, but I already have a ride.”

Under the beam of Macy’s headlights, I watch him absorb my words. His eyebrows slant inward, and he briefly lowers his gaze to his Nike-clad feet.When he looks up again, his expression is closed off, and a knot of guilt coils in my stomach.

I tell myself it shouldn’t matter. But it does. There may not have been a right or wrong decision here, but I still feel like I made the wrong one.

“All right, well, get home safely.” He sounds resigned, and there’s no trace of that earlier tease in his voice, which I already miss.

“Thanks. You too, Levi,” I say softly, but he’s already turning away.

Staring after him, the guilt coils tighter.

I walk toward Macy’s car, not bothering to wait until she’s completely stopped. I open the passenger door, sink into the seat, and rest my head back, closing my eyes. Exhaustion from a long day of classes and work crashes over me.

“Sorry that took so long,” Macy apologizes.

Forcing my eyes open, I sit up and fasten my seat belt. “It’s fine. I didn’t even notice.”

“Yeah,” she murmurs. “Seems like you were pretty preoccupied.”

My eyes widen. “We were only talking,” I say quickly.

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